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mad Xx:
Frasco, mysterious villa isolated in the mountains
mad Xx:
Dizzy had decided to explore the mansion while Faust got to work on Sol. The mansion had an almost fairy tale depiction to it. Rooms Dizzy explored had things mostly ranging from a bunch of trinkets, large and small, that would be used to please a child. However, the mansion also seemed quite ominous with all of the walls painted in dark colors that showed a moonless night sky, added effects to the dim lighting.
‘What a strange place this is...’
Dizzy thought to herself. She now found herself in a big courtyard of what she assumed to be the center of the whole house. Many toys littered the ground here. The room had a blue stained glass window in its place, where the sun cast blue light all around the area. Dizzy would have continued on had something not caught her interest. Dizzy hid amongst a pile of toys, peeping at a strange figure. A young, very thin, very pale skinned girl was sitting at a small tea table, with two small cups on it. Her short red hair looked like it needed to be combed quite badly, and to Dizzy’s surprise, a black key looked as if it had been shoved into the strange girl’s head. Facing the girl was what looked like a large golden key. But as Dizzy looked more closely at it she noticed that it was not truly a key, but actually a giant axe that had been forged and shaped like a key. The strange key shaped axe turned on it’s blade towards Dizzy’s direction, sensing her presence. The strange red haired girl also looked in the direction of the axe, noticing Dizzy’s head peering back at her’s. Knowing she had been caught, Dizzy decided she would have to introduce herself. The girl looked quite panicked as Dizzy walked over to the small tea table, and grabbed a thick chain that connected to the axe’s body. The girl quickly retreated to the side of a large bed near the back of the room. Dizzy wasn’t quite sure what to make of this.
“Um...I didn’t mean to startle you, miss. Are you the owner of this place?”
Dizzy asked, trying to coax the girl into calming down because she looked like a deer having been caught in the headlights of a moving van. Dizzy noticed dark circles under the girl’s eyes, making the girl look quite sleep deprived. Her dark red, almost black colored eyes kept shifting shakily from Dizzy to her axe at her side. The strange axe just stared unwavering at Dizzy with an unnerving empty gaze in its large black eyes. The body of the axe bent to stare down at the girl who clutched him so tightly.
“It’s okay, A.B.A. This girl here is not a threat.”
The axe said. It had startled Dizzy with its deep voice, but more importantly, Dizzy didn’t even know the axe could speak since its mouth was sealed with thick white stitches. The girl, A.B.A, seemed to calm down more, and her shaky body became more stable. She stood up and approached Dizzy slowly, her gaze cautious for any signs of danger. Dizzy kept herself still, not wanting to make any sudden movements as she could tell by the small display just how timid A.B.A was around strangers. A.B.A came very close to Dizzy’s face, looking the half-Gear up and down in curiosity. Dizzy also inspected her, but noticed with fright that A.B.A was starting to bleed under a bandage wrapped around her left arm.
“Oh no, your hurt!”
Dizzy said in surprise, which in turn got A.B.A freaked out and she went back to her bed, dragging the axe with her.
“That’s normal for her, in the state she’s in.”
Dizzy turned to face Sol, who sat on a pile of toys in a lazy hunched posture, not seeming to mind the toys at all. His knee propped his arm up, which in turn held a cigarette to his lips.
“Your wounds are already healed?”
She asked, noticing his wounds were no longer visible. She knew Faust was good, but she didn’t know he could mend things so quickly in the span of an hour she left them to search the mansion and eventually find A.B.A.
“Actually, I didn’t...”
Faust was towering over them all as he stood at full height, but before he could finish speaking, Sol intervened.
“Shut up.”
He said to the doctor. Faust complied willingly, turning his focus to A.B.A.
“Hmmm...seems you became too excited meeting a new friend. You’d best be careful, though your blood may be artificial, it is still your essence of being.”
Faust warned the silent girl. A.B.A nodded slowly.
“We need to get going. I’ve got to get back on track with that thing that got on the ship.”
Sol mentioned, hopping off the toys.
“But, A.B.A shouldn’t be left in this place all alone.”
Dizzy stated. Sol sighed.
“Look, she’s only an artificial being, and is best adapted to this environment. She could die out in the real world.”
Sol said. Dizzy looked shock, but that soon passed as anger gave way.
“How would you know if your not even a scientist or a doctor? You don’t know what’s best for her!”
She accused. She didn’t mean to, but something in the way Sol said it made her anger peak. Faust put a hand on her shoulder.
“He is right in a sense. She can exist outside of this place, but it can be quite dangerous in the state she’s in. Whoever created her was unable to fully complete her. That is the cause for her weaknesses, however, A.B.A can adapt. But you have to be very careful, since she can bleed herself to death if made too excited.”
Faust explained. Dizzy felt stricken by this information.
“That’s...not fair.”
Dizzy said in a low voice as her head lowered, her hair falling in front of her eyes, obsuring them from view. Faust sighed.
“Life rarely is. Despite that, I do agree it would do A.B.A some good to go out in the world. She did once and almost died for it if I hadn’t spotted her. You have to treat A.B.A with almost baby like steps. Experiences she can be taught about must be given to her slowly so her excitement level doesn’t rise too much, yet at the same time it is necessary for her to bleed.”
Faust stated. This now had Dizzy looking up to the doctor questioningly.
“Necessary? It almost sounds like your contradicting yourself, doctor.”
Dizzy said to him.
“Well, her blood is not truly a known type, but it seems to contain high amounts of mercury within. Her blood cells increase too quickly for her body to be able to contain it, so she must expel excess blood from her or she will die. Yet as I said earlier, if she’s made too excited and bleeds so much that she won’t be able to regenerate new blood in time, she’ll die, just like typical human blood loss in large amounts which results in death. So in a sense you can think of her bleeding as a means of venting herself out. I’ll put her life in your hands, Dizzy, if you believe you can really take care of her and have the rest of the pirates do so as well. Every life, even that of an artificial one is precious.”
Faust told her. Dizzy was excited by the opportunity to make a new friend, but this particular one would need a lot of help and attention before being able to fully adapt to the world.
“I’ll do it. Remaining isolated from the world is something I can relate to. I’ll help her anyway I can, plus, maybe we can find her creator and have him complete her.”
Dizzy offered.
“...and Paracelus.”
All eyes went to A.B.A as she spoke in a low voice. Her head seemed lowered in shame for bringing that up.
“Oh yeah...A.B.A wants to give Paracelus a human body. That was the reason she continued to journey out in the world after finding him.”
Faust explained. Dizzy nodded.
“I see. Then it’s settled. Me and Mr. Badguy will take her with us to find the rest of the crew.”
Dizzy said excitedly, but then turned to face Sol for approval, but his back was to her. He simply shrugged.
“Do what you want. If she slows us down though, she’ll be left behind.”
Sol warned, walking away. Faust looked down to Dizzy.
“I’ll accompany you as well. I’ll keep her from being too much of a burden on you for the time being.”
Faust said. Sol sighed when he heard this. Not that he cared much if the doc did accompany them or not along with the freaky girl, A.B.A and her axe, Paracelus. Having lived for almost two centuries now, the world failed to produce anything that shocked Sol in quite some time.
“Great! In that case I should introduce myself properly. I’m Dizzy.”
Dizzy responded, shaking A.B.A’s hand. Thankfully Faust had shown A.B.A how do this before. Dizzy decided she should introduce her wings as well so A.B.A could learn to get used to them. Deciding to show Undine first, she allowed her white wing to expand. A.B.A cowered away and hid behind Paracelus as she didn’t know what was going on now. Dizzy smiled to her.
“Let me introduce you to Undine first, too.”
Dizzy said, and her wing held out a hand to shake A.B.A’s as well. A.B.A did so nervously, but felt more comfortable when she realized Undine felt quite warm in comparison to her cold looking appearance.
“Nice to meet you A.B.A, Paracelus.”
Undine offered the girl and her axe. Once that was done, Dizzy nervously brought out Necro, not sure what he would do, but she pleaded with him silently to be on his best behavior. The black wing stared coldly at A.B.A and kept his arms crossed.
“Uh...this is Necro and he’s not the most friendly person around so don’t mind him too much.”
Dizzy said, glaring at her black wing, though thankful he decided to not do anything foolish like attack as he was often prone to do. After the introductions were made, A.B.A bleeding increased with her excitement and curiosity at Dizzy and her strange partners. Luckily it wasn’t too much, however, which was probably understandable with a doctor like Faust and his own strange set of unique abilities.
“Doctor, I was wondering if you could take us to Zepp. I can feel Testament’s presence over there. That means the rest of the crew should be with him.”
Dizzy stated. Faust nodded.
“One way trip to Zepp coming right up!”
The lanky doctor said cheerily as he covered himself in a green cloth and disappeared under it. Soon he showed up again, opening a dimensional door in the room.
“Shall we?”
mad Xx:
Zepp, floating country of Blacktech
mad Xx:
“Ow...that was a bumpy ride.”
Johnny felt himself on something soft, and opened his eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Huh...where is this?”
He sat up groggily, finding himself in a simple furnished bedroom. His hat, coat and sword had been placed in a small chair that was besides the bed he lay on. He walked slowly to the window at the end of the bedroom, peering out of it.
“Zepp, huh...I didn’t think we were going to crash-land here of all places.”
Johnny spoke to himself softly.
“I’ll say you didn’t. You gave some residences quite a scare when your escape pods landed in some scrap yards.”
A familiar voice said. Johnny turned to be faced with a man in a blue military uniform and a thick upturned mustache.
“Yo, Gabe, it’s been awhile. Sorry about all the trouble, but my airship got totaled in a bout to the death.”
Johnny said. Gabriel, President of Zepp, nodded slowly.
“Yes. By the monster called Leopaldon. Seems the creature is causing chaos down on the surface of the Earth. In the past hour you were asleep for, a bounty of ten billion have been placed on it’s head. Most likely work of the Bureau.”
Gabriel informed him. Johnny nodded.
“Yeah, probably.”
He agreed.
“There is also something else I would like to discuss with you. It seems Dizzy was not among you when you landed. I tried to ask Testament, but he refused to speak to me and Sir Kiske says he doesn’t know what happened after he boarded the escape pod. That leaves only you to answer my question of where Dizzy is at the moment. You know that if the Bureau found out about her still being in existence, they’d all be down your throat in an attempt to retrieve and dissect her.”
Gabriel stated. Johnny sighed.
“Of course I know that. Leopaldon knocked her off along with Sol. Where they’re at is anyone’s guess, but as long as she’s with him, I think she’ll live. Odd as it may sound, Sol Badguy seems to have a strange protectiveness over Dizzy that I’ve seen on occasion.”
Johnny explained. Before Gabriel could continue speaking, the door opened, and a giant of a man with tanned skin and a large slave collar stepped into the room, having to crouch low to avoid hitting the top of the door frame. He was dressed similarly to Gabriel, though with out a hat and a lower ranked uniform. He saluted.
“Excuse me, President, but may I be allowed to speak? The information is quite urgent.”
The man said. Gabriel nodded, saluting back.
“What is it Potemkin?”
He asked, concerned.
“Dr. Faust has brought both Dizzy and an unidentified girl with him.”
Potemkin reported. Gabriel smirked.
“Speak of the devil...”
He murmured. Johnny turned to the hulking Potemkin.
“Hey, was Sol there with them, too?”
He asked, but Potemkin shook his head. Johnny had expected Sol to bring her back to them, not Faust, thought the strange doctor did have some pretty quick and handy ways of traveling that did surpass Sol’s own, as far as he could tell. Not only that, but an unidentified person was with them as well.
“Lead the way, Potemkin.”
Gabriel ordered. Potemkin saluted before leading them to the lobby of the building, where the rest of the crew was now situated. Johnny walked in, happy to take in the sight of his crew alive and well. Faust towered over everyone, and Testament was talking with Dizzy, but most everyone’s attention was focused on the strange girl Dizzy brought back. A.B.A felt uncomfortable with all the staring and hid behind Paracelsus, who had his eyes closed and looked to be sleeping.
“Well, good to see the gang is all back in one...”
Before Johnny could finish, a well aimed punch to the jaw, courtesy of a very pissed off May, dropped him to the floor. May had to be held off by the others before she decided to tear Johnny to bits.
“Ow...what was that for, May?”
Johnny asked obliviously, though he had a pretty good idea as to why she reacted like that. Payback’s a b***h, and now she wanted answers as to why he decided to knock her out on the May-Ship. Of course, he had already explained, but no one is in the right state of mind when their just about ready to pass out.
“You idiot, Johnny! I could have helped you! WHY DID YOU KNOCK ME OUT!”
May all but shouted, her voice echoing off the walls and making her voice sound even more threatening. Everyone winced.
“Now, now May...it was for your own good. I didn’t want to see you hurt, that’s all. It would have broken my heart.”
He said, bringing his most sincere gaze he could muster, and hoping she wouldn’t bring up all the times he usually let her get into dangerous situations in the past without second that. Not that he did too often, but probably more then was necessary. May seemed to visibly calm down after this.
“Well...alright, I forgive you since you put it that way. But could you please just tell me that next time so I won’t have to wake up with a throbbing bump on the back of my head and a killer headache?”
She said. Johnny sighed in relief. He could live to see another day once more. Composing himself, he stood up and made his way to both Dizzy and new girl.
“Hey, Dizzy, wasn’t Sol with you? What happened to him? He didn’t...?”
He began to say, but stopped. It was hard to believe someone like Sol could die. Despite his lax personality, the bounty hunter was a tough nut to crack, and anyone who faced him usually barely stood a chance. Even Leopaldon seemed a bit worried in the small battle it engaged with Sol on the May-Ship.
“Oh, no he’s fine. Sir Ky already asked me, too. Mr. Badguy is at a store called -Riot-, I think. He wanted to buy a new shirt since that creature tore off his last one. Sir Ky went to retrieve him.”
Dizzy explained. Johnny looked skeptical.
“Retrieve him...or kill him. They are at constant odds with one another usually. Oh well, enough about them, whose this you brought with you?”
Johnny asked, directing his attention to A.B.A. It took a little time, but Dizzy was able to coax A.B.A into meeting him.
“This is Johnny, our captain. He’s the one who took me in with the rest of the crew. Say hello A.B.A.”
Dizzy said in a comforting voice. A.B.A clutched Paracelus tightly, shyly staring at Johnny.
“Hello...”
She offered in a weak voice. In the light, she looked even more pale and bony as opposed to the darker lighting of Frasco. Johnny took the girl’s hand, before kissing the back of it lightly.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. A.B.A.”
Johnny said smoothly. A.B.A blushed in embarrassment, not really understanding Johnny’s form of greeting. Before Johnny knew it, he was struck in the head by Paracelus, as the massive axe hobbled in front of A.B.A protectively.
“Don’t you dare lead her on, or you will answer to me.”
The axe said threateningly. Johnny just stared at him in surprise.
“Um...am I missing something?”
Johnny asked in genuine confusion, having not known Paracelus to be alive. The eyes of the axe narrowed.
“I know how your type works. You will not get to her with your playboy attitude of yours.”
Paracelus stated.
“Whoa, whoa...That was just a greeting. Don’t take things so seriously.”
Johnny said, still in shock.
‘What the heck am I doing...? I’m talking to a giant axe...in the shape of a key?’
Johnny was thinking to himself. He knew he shouldn’t be that surprised. Dizzy had some strange friends in the form of two entity like systems that grew out of her back like wings. This should not come to be something out of the ordinary, yet it still was. Dizzy intervened, however.
“Um...Mr. Paracelus, please don’t be offended. Johnny just speaks that way. He’s really a kind person. Please just give him a chance.”
She said to the axe. Paracelus looked down, ashamed.
“Forgive me...I suppose I may have overreacted a bit.”
Paracelus apologized. Johnny nodded in acceptance.
“No harm done.”
He said softly. A.B.A held the axe close to her, snuggling her head against his.
“Don’t be jealous, Paracelus. You’re the only one for me. I love only you, that’s why I want to find daddy so he can give you a body of your own.”
She said sweetly to him, making him blush. Everyone just stared in bewilderment. A.B.A had confessed her love for an axe...in the shape of a key. Johnny shrugged.
‘This is a strange world we live in...’
:*We will continue on*:
 Mariah_Silvermane · Sat Apr 28, 2007 @ 04:11pm · 0 Comments |
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